Thursday, August 22, 2013

Learning to Say NO!

Posted by Crystal Otto at 8:36 AM

Good morning!

Well - I blew it yesterday with my poor parenting and then I fell asleep without setting up my blog post for the Muffin...I have to tell you that this very morning I feel like a complete and utter failure. However, my motto in life is that when I get lemons I will turn them into lemonade. At the end of my blog posts I always say the following to readers: May your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, and sunshine! I truly believe that those not so comfortable moments (the lemons) are catalysts for change. They are moments that allow us clarity and opportunity. So, instead of beating myself up this morning, I thought I would share my thoughts...

I am 35 weeks pregnant and had no business taking my 5 and 6 year old to the county fair yesterday. It was 90 degrees in the shade and I should have been sitting home with my feet up. Instead, I spent 5 hours at the fair walking around being uncomfortable. When it was time to go I of course pushed a little harder and let the children go on a few more rides. Unfortunately my generosity was not met with gratitude. I listened to quite a bit of whining on the way to the car AND the entire way home.

Why is it so hard to say no? Why didn't I just stay home and tell the children we can all go next year after their brother is here and mommy feels better?

Similarly, last week I agreed to help coordinate a charity event in town. I wanted to say no, but instead I agreed and then felt like I had too many irons in the fire. My inability to say no seems to be the root cause of most of the stress in my life.

Do you find that as an author you are pulled in too many directions as well? Is it book signings, guest blog posts, social events? Have you learned to say no? How did you learn that important lesson and can you share with us (me)?

Now I'm off to feed calves and help with hay - again....unable to say no...and did I mention the 17 pounds of garden fresh tomatoes I am supposed to turn into salsa and can later today to...Help!!

Crystal J. Casavant-Otto is a church musician, business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Reedsville, Wisconsin with her husband, two young children (Carmen 6 and Andre 5), three dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, and over 200 Holsteins. Crystal and her husband, Mark, are expecting another son at the end of September. You can find Crystal blogging at: http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

I've been there with my kids too! They just don't appreciate or fully understand the sacrifices we make sometimes. It's funny you would post something about just saying no to some things today! I received a message today asking me to do a favor. It's something I've done before, something I enjoy doing, something that helps the public image of my workplace. That said, it's not my job, I don't get paid for it, I just spent 3 days at the fair with my kids and horses, and my kids start school on Monday. So, I respectfully declined and apologized for not being able to help out. I'm not sure I could lie about not being to help out. I mean, lies tend to get found out eventually, and if we're too busy to handle one more thing, it's really okay to say so!